Chapter 114
The subway was closer than we thought.
It was about a five-minute walk.
"Are you sure I shouldn't come along?"
As we descended the subway stairs,
Yeoreum looked down at us with worried eyes from above.
She was ready to drop everything and follow us at any moment.
"It's fine. The kids should try to do something on their own strength, right?"
"…Yes. Then, please take good care of the children."
"Sure."
Yeoreum waved goodbye and walked away into the distance after dropping us off at the station.
We watched her disappear, and when she was out of sight, we turned our gaze to the subway stairs.
"Wow…"
Levinas's eyes sparkled, facing a grand adventure ahead.
After staring down the stairs for a while, she pulled out a doll from her bag.
It was a shark doll with a tail similar to Sophia's.
"King, if anything happens, throw this and run away."
Levinas handed me the shark doll.
Sophia frowned slightly, perhaps displeased with the idea of throwing the shark doll.
"Why throw the shark doll of all things?"
"Sharks protect everyone!"
Protecting everyone, huh.
It was clear how much Levinas trusted Sophia.
After all, among us, Sophia was indeed the most reliable.
"Well, if that's the case, it can't be helped."
"Right! The shark will fend them off and come back!"
"Hmm…"
Sophia's face reddened with Levinas's boundless trust.
She quickly descended the stairs, perhaps not wanting to show her flushed face.
"Sharky! Let's go together!"
Levinas followed Sophia, and Saebyeok and I trailed behind.
Once we reached the bottom of the stairs, we had to stop and look around.
The underground was surprisingly spacious.
"Wow."
It looked like a surface commercial district had been transported underground.
Seeing the underground mall for the first time in a long while, I too became slightly intrigued.
"King! We've come to the underworld! Have you ever been to a place like this, King?!"
"No, this is my first time here too."
"Is that so…!"
With curious eyes, Levinas approached a young woman nearby.
Thump, thump, thump -
Levinas tapped the woman's butt with her fist.
Thinking she was being harassed, the woman turned around hastily.
"Eek…?"
Her scream turned into a question when she saw Levinas.
Realizing it was Levinas who had tapped her, the woman's confused face gradually softened.
"Did you tap my butt?"
"Yes! Levinas has something she's curious about!"
"What does Miss Horned Rabbit want to know?"
The woman bent her knees to match Levinas's eye level.
Her attitude was inviting, as if to say, ask anything.
"Is this place where the underground people live?!"
At Levinas's innocent question, the woman smiled.
She nodded and patted Levinas on the head.
"Yes. This is the country of the underground people."
"Wow! But Levinas is from the surface…!"
"Wow, really?"
"Yes!"
Levinas, thrilled by the encounter with the underground people, jumped up from her spot.
After chatting a bit more with the woman, Levinas ran back to us.
"Sharky! Kings! Big news! This is the land of the underground people!"
"Amazing. I've never seen an underground person in my life."
"Me neither."
Everyone pretended not to know for the sake of innocent Levinas.
The people around us chuckled.
"The Daybreak Guild kids are so cute."
"Yeah. Haha underground people."
Compliments on the children's cuteness made my tail rise.
Indeed, our kids were cute.
"King! But where do we take the subway?!"
"Um… Shouldn't we buy tickets first…?"
I said this while looking at Sophia.
Among us, only Sophia knew how to use the subway.
"Hmm… I shall only observe, so you try buying the tickets yourselves."
"By ourselves…?"
"Yes, if you really don't know, asking a station employee could be another way."
I pondered why Sophia wouldn't help us and then realized.
It was to foster independence in the children.
If that was Sophia's thought, I had no choice but to follow.
I too wanted the children to develop independence.
"Should I just stand by too?"
"…Gyeoul, shouldn't you be doing it?"
"Huh?"
Why me, especially when young Levinas and Saebyeok were here?
It felt odd, but I decided to follow Sophia's words.
I had to practice taking the subway too, after all.
'Sophia must see me as a child too?'
Given the significant age difference, it was inevitable.
For now, we decided to start by looking for the ticket office.
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The ticket vending machine, placed right next to the subway entrance, attracted the attention of the people around.
What was happening?
Song Jinseok, who was working as a station employee, moved towards where everyone's attention was concentrated.
"King, the letters have suddenly gone all squiggly."
"Yeah. We must have selected the wrong language."
"This is in English."
Three beast-kin children huddled together in front of a large screen.
A short distance away, a child with a shark tail stood with arms crossed.
"Wow, what's that."
"Look at their tails."
The cute appearance of the children from behind attracted attention, and somewhere, the sound of a camera shutter clicked.
I hope there's no big trouble.
Station employee Song Jinseok quickly ran towards the children.
"Just a moment."
He made his way through the crowd to the ticket machine, and the three children simultaneously looked up at him.
Their eyes were so pure and innocent.
"Ah! It's the police!"
"I'm not the police, I'm a station employee. Do you need help?"
At the employee's question, the children looked in one direction.
Gyeoul, with her white ears and tail perked up, spoke up.
"We want to take the subway…"
"Alright. Where do you want to go?"
"Well, we don't have a destination."
"No destination?"
Coming to take the subway without a destination, what does that mean?
Puzzled, Song Jinseok's eyebrows raised.
"Actually, it's our first time taking the subway."
"Is that so?"
"Yes. We want to try it today, but we don't know how."
"Ah…"
They didn't come to go somewhere; they came to experience the subway itself.
Such decisive action was commendable.
"Do you go to a school?"
"Why do you ask…?"
"It's nothing, just that subway rides are free for elementary school students."
They seemed to be the age of early elementary students.
He wanted to tell them they didn't need to pay, but somehow the child's expression turned sour.
"I don't go to school…"
"You don't?"
"Yes… I'll just pay."
"Uh…"
Song Jinseok scanned the children up and down.
Then he noticed their scruffy clothes and kept his mouth shut.
'Can't they afford to go to school?'
They were at the age to be learning and playing in school.
Elementary education is mandatory, so why?
Is the law for beast-kin different?
Unfamiliar with Daybreak Guild and beast-kin, Song Jinseok couldn't help but feel guilty.
'I shouldn't have said that.'
Elementary students ride for free.
Saying such a thing to a child who can't attend school due to financial reasons must feel incredibly sad.
'I should have just mentioned the age directly.'
They said it was their first time taking the subway.
Was it because they couldn't afford it?
Song Jinseok sighed deeply and forced a business smile.
"First off, you don't need to pay."
"Even though I'm not an elementary student?"
"Yes, you don't need to pay, regardless of being an elementary student or not."
"Eh?"
Gyeoul tilted her head in confusion.
She didn't understand why she, an adult, didn't have to pay.
Misinterpreting Gyeoul's reaction, Song Jinseok bit his lip.
Not attending school yet wondering why they could ride the subway for free.
Song Jinseok regretted his words again.
"The subway is free to ride whenever, and your purpose is to ride the subway itself, not to go somewhere, right?"
"Yes…"
"Then, you can ride it, get off, and take it back from the opposite side to return here. It should take about thirty minutes round trip."
"Ah…!"
Gyeoul's ears perked up.
Her tail, which had been drooping in confusion, began to wag gently.
Song Jinseok mistakenly thought the child's mood had improved and felt relieved inside.
"If your goal is just to ride the subway, there's no need to go far, right?"
"Yes. That's right."
"Just go a little bit and then come back from the other side. You can do that, right?"
It would be troublesome if the children went too far and got lost.
Luckily, the children didn't seem to intend to go too far.
"Yes. We can do that."
"Good. Then I'll wait for your return."
"Wait for us…?"
"Yes. Since it's your first time using it. If you don't come back, I'll assume you got lost and will contact each station."
"Um… Yes…"
To be treated with such care on their first subway ride might seem silly, but it was kind.
Gyeoul admired the station employee working hard in his position.
"Then, off you go."
"Okay!"
Is this finally their first subway ride?
Feeling a sense of responsibility, Gyeoul led the children towards the ticket barriers.
Then, Gyeoul had no choice but to stop in front of the ticket barriers.
The long bars were determined not to let anyone pass.
Gyeoul had no idea how to get past without paying.
She just stood there, staring blankly at the ticket barriers.
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